A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD
A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD
A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD
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4.3) Land property rules<br />
4.3.1) Agro-forest possessi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
Even if forests are often c<strong>on</strong>sidered as comm<strong>on</strong> or collective property and have been<br />
owned by the regi<strong>on</strong>al governments since 1974, previous instituti<strong>on</strong>al framework and<br />
traditi<strong>on</strong>al management systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly<br />
working and they are tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher, 2005). As a c<strong>on</strong>sequence, forests<br />
are divided am<strong>on</strong>g the households living in the area. Individual plots are managed by<br />
households, individually (as in Kalloo forest) or in groups (as in Dino forest market group).<br />
Products are harvested by householders that hold right over the plot but these rights are more<br />
or less exclusive. High value products as <strong>coffee</strong> tend to be appropriated <strong>on</strong> a more exclusive<br />
basis by specific people. From three modalities of access to forest, two come from the past:<br />
- Exclusive usufruct: <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>on</strong>e pers<strong>on</strong> has access to the c<strong>on</strong>cerned plot. All resources<br />
can be used without restricti<strong>on</strong>: spice and <strong>coffee</strong>, wood and cutting trees. Access to this plot is<br />
regularised by the tenant for life. Often he enlarges the access to his family, neighbours. But a<br />
stranger penetrating without permissi<strong>on</strong> is c<strong>on</strong>sidered as a thief (Avril, 2008).<br />
- Partial usufruct: governmental forests n<strong>on</strong> distributed are used by farmers who have<br />
fields just next to the forest. Owners of these fields have an officious right for utilisati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
They can gather <strong>coffee</strong>, spices, wood but they can not cut trees (Avril, 2008).<br />
As an example, Dino forest situated in Sunxxu farmers’ associati<strong>on</strong> shelters a twenty<br />
hectares semi-forest <strong>coffee</strong> plot which is divided am<strong>on</strong>g twenty five smallholders. They<br />
c<strong>on</strong>stitute the Dino market group, member of the <strong>Limu</strong> Inara Farmers Multi-Purpose<br />
Cooperative Uni<strong>on</strong> 29<br />
. And as a member of this market group, the Sunxxu kebele chairman<br />
owns <strong>on</strong>e hectare. Farmers own their trees, even if there is no boundary or any kind of<br />
delimitati<strong>on</strong> between those. These trees were planted during Haile Selassie regime, fifty years<br />
before and are probably Malo or Orome varieties.<br />
29 Refer 6.2.2) The <strong>Limu</strong> Inara Multi-purpose Cooperative Uni<strong>on</strong>, an initiatives’ leader?<br />
47